Published 10:00 pm, Tuesday, October 23, 2007

OLYMPIA -- Don Eldridge, a former Republican speaker of the House who helped then-Gov. Dan Evans move his agenda through the Legislature, has died. He was 87.

Eldridge, a Mount Vernon native who ran his family's stationery store, was elected in 1952 to the House from the 40th District and served until his departure in 1970 to take an Evans appointment to the state Liquor Control Board. He retired in 1979 and stayed in his adopted hometown of Olympia. He died Oct. 16 of renal failure, said his son Ray.

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Eldridge was conservative and said he sometimes had to "hold his nose" to promote Evans' more liberal ideas, like a state income tax.

"We saw a growth in the size and scope of state government," the former governor told The Olympian. "The role he played was important; the time in which he played it was even more important."

Evans said Eldridge was a mentor to him and was "a non-threatening type of guy who could keep the caucus focused and keep the caucus moving."

The state's Oral History Program has published a 722-page book on Eldridge.

In retirement, Eldridge served as a trustee for Western Washington University and waged one last campaign, unsuccessfully running for county commissioner in heavily Democratic Thurston County in 1983. His competitor, not related, was Les Eldridge, a quirk that forced election officials to publish occupations for both men.

Eldridge is survived by four adult children, nine grandchildren and six great-grandchildren. A memorial service is scheduled for 1 p.m. Saturday at Kern Funeral Home in Mount Vernon.